TIFF 50: Finding hope in "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo"
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 8:30PM 
Gazes, whether averted or confrontational, flirtatiously elusive or probingly direct, have been one of the cornerstones of queer desire on screen. In the 21st century, the state of post-New Queer Cinema has only exulted their role, almost codifying certain gestures across a plurality of artistic expressions that may, otherwise, appear to have very little in common past their shared LGBTQ+ label. In this regard, it's almost inevitable to find a picture like Diego Céspedes' The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo. Chile's official submission for the 98th Academy Awards and this year's Un Certain Regard champion ruminates on the transgressive essence of a queer gaze, transforming it into a conduit of infection in what, at first glance, strikes the viewer as an allegory for the AIDS crisis. Things are not what they seem, however…